Waterbury evening Democrat., 1887-12-15
EMISSARIES OF IRELAND.
O'CONNOR AND ESMONDE AT THE
 NATIONAL CAPITAL.

A Reception at Which Senator Sherman
 Presides and Senator Ingalls Speaks of
 the Woes of the Emerald Isle-Resolu-
 tions of Sympathy Adopted.
 WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.-Sir Thomas Es- monde and Arthur O'Connor, M. F., the Irish agitators, arrived here yesterday, and attended a reception in the evening in Ma sonic temple. The audience was very large, including several senators and representa- tives. Senator Ingalls,, who had been selected for chairman, being absent at the opening of the meeting. Senator Sherman was called to preside. He spoke loudly for home rule in Ireland and in conclusion said: "All we want and all we pray for is that Great Britain may yield to our Irish brethren what they desire and give them home rule; and the British government from that day forth will be stronger than ever amid the powers of the world"
 Senator Ingalls, was greeted with applause. "We have assembled this evening"" he said, Gin the shadow of the national capitol for the purpose of saying, so far as can voice the sentiments of the Assemblage, that the cause of Ireland is the cause of America that in deeper and wider sense it is not only the cause of Ireland, but of humanity itself. We have assembled for the purpose of learning from these two illustrious repre- sentatives of Irish sentiment what has been the result of seven centuries of oppression of the Irish peop.e by the governing classes of Great Britain," and he said, were he a still more obscure politician than he was, he should not hesitate to say that if we are called upon to choose between Great Britain or for Ire- land in this contest, no American citizen will hesitate as to what his preference shall be.
 He did not understand, he said, that the Irish representatives of home rule desire to interfere with the unity of the British em- pire, but Great Britain should not forget that there is nothing so dangerous and so un- profitable as injustice. Great Britain should not forget that 1000, 900 of people deter mined to be free can never be enslaved Great Britain should not forget that 8, ,O0O,- . GOO of citizens in the original thirteen col onies revolted and achieved their independ- ence under far less provocation than the TOGO, 900 of Irish people have endured for centuries. He did not desire to trench upon the properties of the occasion, nor to intrude upon the comity of nations, but he could not forget that a brutal and degraded British soldiery, within the memory of men who might now be with in the hearing of his voice, had sacked and burned this capitol.
 He could not forget that in every great crisis ill American history we have had to contend with the ill-will and malevolence of the governing classes of Great Britain; and in that last great struggle for the pre- servation of constitutional liberty upon this continent we had the il-will of the govern ing classes of Great Britain; that she con- sorted with the south and equivocated with the north and contributed everything short of actual hostility to secure the downfall of the American union.
 In conclusion he said: 1T shall never cease to remember that during that awful period was not battle field for American liberty which was not illustrated by Irish valor and consecrated by Irish blood"
 Senator Ingalls, then introduced MT. O'Connor, who eloquently presented the wrongs Of Ireland, and was followed by Senator Hawley. MT. Esmond also spoke, as well as several representatives in con- gres*, Fred Douglass and others. Resolu- ticns of sympathy were adopted and the meeting adjourned.